Month: March 2012

Residents in southern Richmond have been having problems with mail delivery for months now, but it all came to a head late last week when one woman saw her carrier lift up a trash can lid and throw all of the mail he was carrying inside.

I rarely, if ever, use mail boxes or the local mail carrier as I live a block away from a post office. When I receive mail, I take the time to thank my postal worker for his work, and hope that he’ll deliver my stuff again the next day.

I don’t usually think that he’ll throw my mail in the garbage. Granted that most of what I receive is junk mail, but the junk is my junk and federal law protects my rights to receive all the crap that’s coming to me.

I wonder what will happen with this case. Will he be caught, or will snow, sleet, and the dark of a dumpster continue to deter this worker from his appointed rounds.

When daisies pied, and violets blue, and lady-smocks all silver-white, And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue do paint the meadows with delight, The cuckoo then, on every tree, mocks married men, for thus sings he: ‘Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo!’ O word of fear, unpleasing to a married ear.

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws, and merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks, When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws, and maidens bleach their summer smocks, The cuckoo then, on every tree, mocks married men, for thus sings he: ‘Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo!’ O word of fear, unpleasing to a married ear

More than three-quarters of young adults ages 25 to 34 who have moved back home with their families during the Great Recession and the troubled economic years that followed say they’re satisfied with their living arrangements and upbeat about their future finances.

Those arrangements have benefited their parents as well: almost half of all boomerang children say they have paid rent and almost nine-in-ten have helped with household expenses.

One reason young adults who are living with their parents may be relatively upbeat about their situation is that this has become such a widespread phenomenon. Among adults ages 25 to 34, 61% say they have friends or family members who have moved back in with their parents over the past few years because of economic conditions. Furthermore, three-in-ten parents of adult children (29%) report that a child of theirs has moved back in with them in the past few years because of the economy.

While young adults living at home may be satisfied with their situations, nearly eight-in-ten say they don’t currently have enough money to lead the kind of life they want, compared with 55% of their same-aged peers who aren’t living with their parents. Even so, large majorities of both groups (77% versus 90%) say they either have enough money now to lead the kind of life they want or expect they will in the future.

These findings are based on a new Pew Research Center survey of 2,048 adults nationwide conducted Dec. 6-19, 2011, that explores the family dynamics and economics of multi-generational living at a time when the number of multi-generational family households in the country continues to rise.

As a general rule I hate college basketball. There is no real way to enjoy a sport where the players can be disqualified based on their grades, or where you can’t watch your favorite team due to the restrictions of the local cable provider. College hoops is nice if you can watch it on the web, or have a local team playing near enough for you to visit in person. In general, the majority of the world does not have the ability or inclination to crowd into a stadium with a bunch of drunk and rowdy 21-year-olds as the local team gets their asses handed to them by their historic rivals. Having said this, I have enjoyed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) march madness tournament this year. March Madness as its called is when all the teams who did not suck throughout their season play each other for the opportunity to say “We’re the best and baddest team, so there.” The coolest part about this is that there is wall to wall basket ball on most of the major networks. While someone from Moose County University in Jackass Flats Michigan might not see their local boys on TV, they will be treated to the sights and styles of the Indiana Hoosiers, Butler Bulldogs, and VCU Rams playing their hearts out for the bragging rights of “best Damn team in the league.”

This year, 2012, CBS and the Turner Broadcasting System are collaborating to bring wall to wall hoops to the millions of college sports crazy Basketball fans both on television and online. This has been a wonderful thing as it has broadened the ability of folks to follow their teams, and to interact with their like minded fans in chats. It has been a huge boon to me as it has allowed me to become more interested in College hoops.

I hate to say it, I was an NBA fan and could not stand college. After the lockout, late season, and endless crap over the contracts for the professional services of these ball players, I turned on a college game and got hooked. I’ll still be a fan of professional basket ball, but college is now on my radar.

CBS, you and your colleagues are tasked with continuing the coverage of college hoops and to make March Madness as accessible as possible. You got a tentative convert. Let see if you keep my loyalty.